by Chris Mohr |

Thus far, the implementation of advisory in place of seminar has had mixed reviews from all grade levels.
“Advisory provides an opportunity for students to feel more connected to our school. Its purpose is to establish accountability, to build relations and to create community within our school. The pillars from which we work are: academic development, personal support and post secondary planning. Our pillars are the catalysts for maintaining our purpose,” international language teacher Tori Figg said.
Tori Figg, alongside nine other faculty members, make up what is called the Advisory Development Team. These faculty members include Charity Stephens, Tara Harvey, Sara Wyatt, Brenda Wiederholt, Tracey Kracht, Greg Mees, Brett Coffman and Penny Holm.
While change will always be tough, the program has been very successful so far, according to Figg.
“We always have room to improve, this is why constructive feedback is helpful. All grade levels so far have had the opportunity to provide feedback and we have appreciated it greatly,” Figg said.
Advisory has gotten some strong feedback, not only from juniors and seniors, but also sophomores.
“Advisory is 25 minutes of doing nothing and being with the same people for three years in a row is pointless,” sophomore Hanna Tapp said. “Instead of sitting in advisory doing nothing, it should be a time to do homework, meet with teachers and associate with others.”
Some seniors on the other hand, simply enjoy advisory on behalf of the information presented on college preparation.
“We’ve talked a lot about college and financial aid, but its all stuff that is pretty self-explanatory,” senior Jordan Tanner said. “I don’t mind advisory, but I do think that we shouldn’t have gotten rid of seminar. One day can be spent on advisory and the other seminar.”
Sophomores get presented information on entering the high school realm while seniors get the college talk. Juniors are the ones who get stuck in between – with, what some believe, has little substance.
“We have learned a lot about conflicts, how to apply to colleges, different clubs that the school offers and different kinds of relationships,” junior Marisssa Moreno said. “I think some of the stuff we learn is beneficial, but most of it is common sense, like how to settle an argument.”
Good or bad, advisory is here to stay. The Advisory Development Team is always accepting advice on ways to improve the program and make it more enjoyable.
“The relationships formed between student to student and teacher to student are valuable,” Communication Arts teacher Taryn MacGee said.